So I look like a dog…I'm getting used to the stares. My name is..er….was… Brian Murdoch. I was once a software designer in Midwest USA. After my human body was destroyed in an SUV accident a while back, I woke up from a deep sleep in the middle of this strange forest. I now inhabit a hermaphroditic, 5' 2", buxom body with golden brown fur. And some of the stares I get me rather nervous. Thank Goddess for Silvermoon. She is the woman who found and befriended me…. I think she's some sort of important person around here, a noble…. perhaps. She has the look of someone who is used to having her way. After watching her make short work of a few ruffians with her short-sword, I feel secure at her side. We approached the gated town together, my mind at ease.
"What's this place Sil?". I looked up at her in query.
" It is, a place of memories, a place of friends and allies. We will find lodging for the night here and I will contact my sisters in the morning." She continued walking without another word.
Her silence as we plodded along further gave me the impression that these words were all she was going to offer by way of explanation. I noticed a shadow moving toward us as she strode along, apparently oblivious. I tensed and touched the jeweled hilt of the Elvin dagger she had given me on the morn after our first night together.
"Sil?" I whispered harshly.
"I see him." She spoke in low tones, not breaking her stride. Her strong hand touched my knife-arm, stopping my draw.
He got closer and gathered speed to intersect our path, reaching into the shabby rags that hung from him like so much garbage.
"Sil??" I pushed against her restraining hand.
"Hush!" she hissed.
He blocked our path and raised one arm as I yelped and hid behind Silvermoon. I took the opportunity to draw my blade, holding it outstretched in front of me. His voice grated the air like a rusty hinge.
"Mistress Silvermoon…Thou art needed. Your sisters request your council." He handed her a sealed parchment and then faded quickly into the shadows, disappearing into the gathering mist. I gazed up at Sil's face and watched as her brow darkened with worry and impatience with each sentence she read. Most of the worry seemed to be directed at me. I sheepishly lowered my knife.
"We must find lodging for you, little one."
I blinked at her, a feeling of dread rising in my throat. " I will sleep by your side, tonight? You know I'm defenseless in this realm…. and this stuff is still totally new to me." I felt my eyelid twitch in a nervous tic.
"No, dear Phae…I have pressing affairs. * Sighs * But you will be entrusted to good and capable hands. This I promise." She continued to stride down the dirt street. Peering off into the distance.
I followed as best I could, resisting the urge to lope forward on all fours (that is frowned upon in "civilized" parts of this realm). We finally stopped in front of a cozy-looking tavern called Callahan's Cross. Sil took my forepaw and led me inside.
A screech from the very depths of hell greeted us as we entered, and a formidable red-head came dashing up to Sil grabbing her up and tossing her about like so much fluff.
"Mistress Moon!!!! Ye are back! My poor heart sings again with joy!"
Sil allowed herself to be hugged and kissed by this force of nature in a barmaid's apron, now holding her fast. She grinned down at me in slight embarrassment.
"Phae…meet Mare. She is to be your guardian and company for tonight." Her grin widened a bit.
I stared up at the plump but shapely woman just now releasing Sil and turning her bright green eyes toward me. Her broad, lovely face broke into an even wider smile as her eyes traveled up and down my furry body. She laughed and scooped me up into her arms and held me against an ample bosom. I noticed the softness of her fiery braids against my cheek as she pulled me to her shoulder, an aura of innocent affection radiating from her.
"And who might this be, Mistress? Is this your new familiar? What's her name?" Her deep green eyes gazed at me intently as she suspended me from her strong hands at arm's length. I tried to smile as friendly as possible at her.
"Does it talk and everything?" Mare exclaimed.
"No Mare, she is neither my familiar, nor a she, exactly. May I introduce you to my new friend Phaedrah? Phae, this is Mare." She smiled an almost feral grin at me as Mare squealed and hugged me close again.
She held me out at arm's length again, my body hanging limp and my mind racing. I began to eye convenient escape routes out the side door, when I felt her grip tighten ever so slightly. She glanced at me curiously, her eyes going wide. She turned to Sil, a voice little more than a quavering whisper escaped her lips.
"But the name, mistress…. that's the name of…"
"That is enough, 'little pony"…We will talk of this later. Right now I need you to accommodate this innocent one for the night…for my coven has need of me." She nodded purposefully at Mare.
"Hey Mare! Are you still workin' or what???" An angry patron yelled at her, his drink having been forgotten when Sil and I had entered. I felt sure that he would soon be decorating the wall behind the bar with his head. Her reply to him surprised and tickled me.
"Go piss up a rope, Sven! I got visitors! Flag down Penny, her shift is on in just a minute! " She turned back to Sil, her gentle, rough hands holding me firmly in their grasp. Sil brushed a stray strand of hair away from Mare's face and smiled belatedly.
"I must go, dear pony…take good care of my Phae. I shall see you on the morrow." With that she slipped out the door of the tavern, leaving me at the mercy of this boisterous but beautiful country girl. Mare set me down on the floor and smiled at me.
I shuffled my feet a bit, growing increasingly nervous without Silvermoon's presence to comfort me. Mare's continued gaze made matters worse.
"Umm, you mentioned something about your shift ending now, Miss Mare?" I twisted a little to look around the bar. Mare startled me again with another of her delightful explosions of mirth. She reached her rough but loving hands for me and I felt a momentary urge to run for my life. My hopes for a spectacular escape were foiled instantly…. she had a grip of iron.
"Come then, Phae…ye shall enjoy my hospitality till Mistress Silvermoon returns." And with that she tugged me out the door of the tavern, tossing her apron back through the entrance like an after-thought.
The next thing I knew, we were making our way down a side-ally and toward a modest storefront. The sign outside read "Rooms to let." Both the storefront and the sign were silvered with age and weathering.